The EllieHector Chronicles
by Blonde Panther
Summary: During and around FE7. Genderswap; female!Eliwood. A series of drabbles and one-shots featuring Hector of Ositia and Ellie of Pherae. Updates infrequently. Suggestions for a better title are very welcome. Rated for violence.
1. Meeting

**_Author's Notes:_**_ Genderswap? Genderswap. When talking to a friend of mine whom goes only by the name DarthSlaverus, the subject of Pherae and Ositia being the largest territories of Lycia came up. He mentioned how, if either Eliwood or Hector had been a girl, they'd be married off to each other. ...you don't say stuff like that to me and expect my head to remain idle. A female Hector is just terrifying, so I went with genderswapping Eliwood instead. _**  
**

**Disclaimer: **Everything you recognize belongs to Nintendo.

**Characters:** Hector, female!Eliwood.

**Pairings: **Hector/Eliwood.

**Warnings:** Don't read if you don't like genderswap, or if you're opposed to Hector/Eliwood pairings since that's essentially what this is... Should be pretty safe otherwise.**  
**

* * *

It was probably safe to say Hector was in a foul mood. He was well aware that his brother was the new marquess of Ositia (despite his stupidly young age- who had heard of a fourteen-years-old marquess?), and he was also well aware that this, until his brother had sons, made Hector himself first in line to take the throne after Uther. But seriously? He was seven. He should be running about outside, with or without axe in hand, with or without retainers trying in vain to catch him.

He should not be stuck in this room with the other heirs to the rest of the Lycian territories. Some were around his age, some quite a bit older, some a lot younger. They were free to move around the room, but leaving it was out of the question- council had put one of Ositia's infamous living walls in front of the door so the kids couldn't escape. Hector could probably try and make a break for it, but his brother would get mad at him for that.

With a sigh, he slumped down in a chair between two occupied ones. To his right was a boy his age, except his weight came from fat rather than muscles -Hector didn't have to be a physician to see that-, with ratty brown hair who had been observing the other children, apparently trying to match the names his father had told him to the faces. Considering he was Erik, the son of Darin of Lahus, probably meant he was doing this to figure out who it was he had to get in favor with.

If that were the case he probably already knew who Hector was -he caught eye, what with being a lot taller than the other kids his age and quite a bit more muscular-, so before the guy could say anything, Hector turned to his left. He had not expected to end up with his face so close to that of a girl. She was just sitting there, quietly, like a good girl. Unlike Hector, she was apparently the kind of kid who could kill a lot of time with reading, for she was ignoring most of the noise around her -the smallest ones were making quite a racket- and gazing into the book she held in her lap with one hand. Her other hand was clenched around the glass of water she stabilized on the armrest of her chair.

Using her apparent dedication to not looking up from her book to get a better look at her, Hector started to try and find a name to go with her face. She was pretty, with her fair, untainted skin, her bright blue eyes and her shoulderlength, scarlet red hair. There was only one 'royal family' in Lycia whose members were well-known for their eye-catching hair color, so Hector concluded she must be the princess of Pherae, the second-largest territory of Lycia and the largest one in the east. She'd caught his eye before, when she had come in with her parents. He remembered feeling bitter towards her because she got to keep both her parents while his had had to die last year. But he figured it couldn't be helped.

He only realized he had leaned closer when the girl tried to put her glass back on the armrest, but bumped it into Hector's arm. She jolted, spilling the remaining contents of the glass over her navy dress, immediately shutting her book as if to keep the water from staining her pages. She put the book on the armrest not occupied by Hector, who had jolted back when she had spilled her drink, and started to rub her dress vigorously with her now free hand.

"Aw geez," Hector said, a little uncomfortably and wondering if the girl (whose name he still couldn't remember- come on, it was something simple. Anna? No.) was going to get mad at him. "I'm sorry. Should I get you, eh, some tissues or something?"

"Don't worry about it…" she didn't even look up at him, still rubbing her dress. "It's black. It's not going to stand out that much." She set her glass down on the ground, where Hector quickly picked it up.

"I'll get you a new drink if you'd eh, like." He motioned to the glass faintly, very embarrassed and not really knowing what to do with his suddenly far too big-feeling body. "Just water? No juice?"

"Water will be fine," she said, smiling at him. Hector didn't know how fast to turn around and make for the table where glasses containing drinks were constantly refilled by servants. When he came back, she had her book in her hand again, this time with a small strip of loose paper in her other one, and she was browsing through the pages. "…didn't look at the page number either," he heard her mutter when he came back into her hearing range. Erik of Lahus had turned a bit in his chair, giving the girl his undivided attention without her really noticing. Hector didn't know why, but somehow that made him a little angry and he sat down in between them again, using his size to block Erik's view of the girl.

She finally decided she had found the page she'd left off at (or close enough, anyway), marked it with the strip of paper and closed her book again, taking the glass from Hector with two hands. "Thank you, umm… Hector, right? Of Ositia?" Well whoop-dee-doo. She already proved herself to be better with names than he was.

"Eh, yeah. I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't wanna, you know, scare you."

She laughed when he avoided having to use her name. It was cute. Wait, what was he thinking. "Do I look that old? I'm only seven, you know. You can use my name." When Hector flustered a bit, she laughed again, crossing her arms while still holding the glass with one. "Unless, of course… you don't know my name?"

"I know your name!" Hector protested, a little more loudly than he would have liked, "I just, eh… it's on the tip of my tongue, eh… …err…" She chuckled for the third time. Apparently his embarrassment was highly entertaining. Wel, at least she wasn't mad at him, right? "I swear to Elimine I know it."

"Protip," the girl said, still laughing, "My father's name is Elbert and my mother's is Eleanora. There's your hint."

"How is that supposed to help me?" he said, scratching his head. Man, this was almost humiliating. His brother had _told_ him a couple of names, too, and he _knew_ the Pheraen princess' name was in there, too. Lizzie? No, that wasn't it either. After almost a minute of head-scratching and digging through his memory, he sighed. "I give up. What's your name?"

"It's Ellie," she said, finally taking a sip of the water. "Ellie of Pherae." Riiiight. THAT was it. For the past few generations, those born into the royal family of Pherae were given names that started with el-. Hector didn't know why, but he should really have remembered it, for the rest of her name was a dead giveaway after that. "Not really that hard to remember, I'd think."

"I'm bad with names okay."

There was no real way for them to have known it at the time, but their clumsy, not very typical child-like meeting, would be the prelude to a long-lasting friendship… and maybe even more.

* * *

_**Additional Author's Notes: **__This'll be a series of one-shots and maybe drabbles, although I can't guarantee they'll be chronological, canon (even aside from Eliwood's gender surgery) or even otherwise related to each other. Obviously this won't be on a regular update schedule- it's one of the two 'for fun' things I want to do on the side._


	2. Spar

_**Author's**_** Notes:** _I... might be portraying Ellie as slightly more ideal and Hector as slightly dumber than I should based on the game. Additionally, I realize it's been a long time since my last activity- two months? There's a very good reason for this, I promise. Amongst others there's that I started college last week, but if anything in my experience that's when I write MORE._

_My long inactivity means I've been left a little rusty, since I'm no longer used to using someone else's intellectual property. Maybe it shows, maybe it doesn't. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the one-shot.  
_

* * *

"Ahh!" Ellie felt her balance shifting, as if the ground disappeared from under her, and she soared towards the ground in a flurry of red and black. "Ow…" She'd dropped her rapier in hopes of catching her fall, but she hadn't been fast enough. That hurt. The girl raised her hands in front of her face to gauge the damage there, but it was clearly her tailbone where most of the damage had been done.

She heard the clattering of metal on ground a second time as the cause of her fall came over to her. "Crap! Are you okay?" She grabbed the large hand in front of her and let Hector pull her up, back to her feet. "Sorry. I didn't know it'd hit you THAT hard."

"It didn't hit me," Ellie said as she tried to get her hair back into behaving, "I tried to get away from it too quickly." It had worked against her. She hadn't been able to stop herself from going back _or_ down. "As if I was afraid of it."

"As you should be," Hector said, not sure if he should help her pat her dress down. Were they old enough that it'd seem awkward? Erik had gotten into trouble the other day for touching a girl… "I guarantee you, if an axe hits you it's going to hurt."

"You don't need to tell me that!" He stepped back as Ellie got mad at him. "You told me that when we first agreed to spar, then you told me after you first hit me, AND you told me last year before we started!"

"Whoa, what's with the attitude all of a sudden?" She'd never gotten mad at him before. …at least not for this. "I didn't know you'd BITE me!"

"I… It's not that I can't take a hit because I'm a girl."

"When did I say that?!" Now Hector was getting annoyed. "Don't put words into my mouth! All I said is that it'll hurt if I hit you, not that you can't take a hit! And I _never_ said anything about you being a girl!"

It wasn't until he saw his friend biting her lip that Hector realized Ellie was more worried than mad. "What's the matter? You're not your usual self."

She shook her head, hesitant. "…Marcus refused to train with me. I wanted to get some more practice in, but he said that it's not the place of a noblewoman to swing a sword about."

"Marcus…" Hector sought the name in his memory. "Isn't that the old one?" He seemed to remember a horseman by that name. In fairness he wasn't THAT old, but still significantly older than the people he directly interacted with. Ellie nodded, not bothering to correct him. "I'd say don't worry about that. He's probably just traditional. Really," he said, shrugging and shaking his head, as he walked back to his axe, "Treating girls like they'll fall apart if you breathe on them? The times are changing, Ellie." When she didn't say anything, he looked over his shoulder. "…are you okay?"

"I… don't know." She shook her head. "I'm worried… do you think I'm a proper noblewoman, Hector?"

"Huh?"

"My mother is worried about my fencing… or more specifically, about my chances of finding a husband if I end up battered and scarred from it." Even Hector could tell the girl was seriously bothered. "She says I'm up and about doing masculine things in addition to being a lady… do you think I'm neglecting the etiquette and-"

"Don't talk nonsense." He crossed his arms. "Your mother's a nice enough woman, Ellie, but she needs to let go of her old-fashioned ideas and give you a little more freedom. I just told you the times are changing. Considering you don't have a brother, it's only GOOD you're learning stuff like fencing and horseback riding. I'd hate to deal with a marchioness who can't defend her own territory."

"There would be Marcus… or my husband, I suppose…"

"You're not a toy or a decoration. Especially not for a man who would lose interest in you over a few scars." He lowered his arms. "I know I wouldn't."

"W-what?"

"N-nothing!"

Confused, but seeing Hector turn his attention to the weapon on the ground, Ellie hurried to bend her knees and pick up her rapier. She assumed he wanted to continue and she'd hate to keep him waiting, especially knowing how much he enjoyed the activity. He lifted his relatively massive weapon and pointed it at her with one hand- an undeniably impressive feat for a fourteen-years-old boy, even if he WAS as massive and as physically strong as Hector had proven himself to be over and over. Fortunately Ellie had the advantage of nimbleness (and arguably cleverness) on her side, even if her fall might have insinuated otherwise. Their spars always turned out to be surprisingly unpredictable, with the victor impossible to name beforehand.

As she took a proper stance once more, greeting as if nothing had happened, she saw he had a pensive look on his face. "What is it?" She said, hoping to get her mind off the former issue, "Are you afraid I might be the one to send _you_ to the floor this time?"

"Don't get cocky, lady," Hector replied, "I'm just wondering something. You know that entire deal about the Scourge?"

"The what?" Ellie suspected he was talking about something from their history class, but she couldn't recall a term like that. An indication she hadn't done enough learning for the test, herself?

"Yeah, you know, the thing when humans kicked dragons off of the continent."

She sighed. "You mean the _Scouring. _And what about it? It's not that complicated…" It wasn't the first time Hector had asked her for help on their studies. He was gifted with strength, but with a keen memory like Ellie.

"Not to you, no." He was clearly not happy with her answer. "But my getting the name wrong alone should tell you it's not as easy for me. Could you help me out with it later this week?"

"…only if you beat me." Of course, Ellie was planning to help him either way. He needed it for the test, and since she had notes and corrected assignments on most of their subjects, she was well enough equipped to help him. Besides, she didn't mind. While not the brightest, he was good company and at least tried to be an attentive student.

"You're on." He finally took his weapon in two hands and Ellie prepared to dodge again… this time preferably without a rough encounter with the ground.


	3. Other Woman

_**Author's Notes: **It's 1:36 at night, so I apologize for not having a whole lot to say. I shouldn't even be uploading, but I just finished a mind-numbingly boring homework assignment and I needed something to do. This chapter has been proofread by both myself and by Darth, but there might be some things that slipped past us._

_I'm bringing up several things in this chapter that seem a little strange to me until you think about it, such as calling Lyn a half-Sacaen. Let me know if they bug you, I can stop doing it for future chapters.  
_

* * *

Pulling her sword back, Ellie dodged to the side, letting the horseman drop behind her while his ally's lance missed its nimble target. Ellie had decided during the battle in Santaruz that she hated fighting heavily armored knights. Considering how thin her rapier was, it was easier for her to take advantage of the armor joints and slip a stab in between them, but the fact remained that the walking walls required many more stabs to stop fighting than she did. Not to mention their lances provided them with both better reach and a good deal more power than she could hope for.

She couldn't rely on diplomatic immunity- the Knights of Lahus followed the orders of their lieges, and apparently neither Erik nor Lord Darin had had any reservations about striking a Lycian noble to kill. This was something Ellie had found out the hard way when she'd fought Erik himself- the cavaliers around him, which under normal circumstances should have stayed far away from a match between lords, had callously attacked her in the back, and she would probably have ended up on the end of a lance if Lowen hadn't ridden in at exactly the right moment to tilt the closest one out of the saddle.

_She had to think less and fight more- _Too late. She had been too occupied with her thoughts to dodge, and the butt of the heavy lance hit her in the stomach. The worst of the impact miraculously seemed to stay behind -maybe the man had held back because she was a woman- but it knocked the wind out of her and sent her reeling. She fell on her back, gasping for air and black spots blurring her vision. Helpless. She was vaguely aware of the heavy footsteps approaching her. No doubt the enemy about to pick her up and take her to his commander, where she'd be left at the mercy of who-knew-who…

But as she struggled to regain her senses, she heard a monstrous battlecry and was momentarily bathed in shade. A cry from her attacker followed the somewhat familiar one from before, and next came the sound of steel on steel. When Ellie gathered the strength she needed to push herself into a sitting position, supporting herself with her arms, she saw the back of an axeman in black, heavy armor. He was even more easily recognisable by the red cape hanging from his shoulders- Hector!

The struggle between the Ositian lord and the knight of Lahus was brief and ended violently, as Hector's Wolf Beil bit through the steel armor and connected with his foe's neck hard enough to permanently put him out of combat. "Ellie!" he shouted, a lot more loudly than was really necessary. "Are you alive?" He was panting, the redhead noted, which was a little out of place. He hadn't had THAT much trouble fighting that knight. Hector had always handled actual fighting better than she had- a quality befitting someone who was likely born to one day lead his brother's armies.

His eyes flitted around quickly, but then he picked up her rapier and handed it to her. It shocked Ellie a little to see how immense his hand was compared to hers. The older the two had gotten, the more obvious the difference in their sizes and builds had become. But she never really noticed until things like this happened- her rapier looked more like a toothpick than a weapon. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but the point stood. "I… I'll be fine."

"You sure? You can't just shrug off a whack from a lance like that one." He had witnessed her getting hit. Now she probably looked like she hadn't been keeping up with her training, which was not the impression she wanted to leave. Although Ellie supposed she had to be grateful for that, because otherwise she was sure he wouldn't have been with her in time. "You already took an arrow to the shoulder the other day and you didn't let Serra look at it." Ellie wanted to protest she wasn't so weak that she needed a healer's attention if she _fell off her horse,_ but Hector didn't even let her start. "I know you're not weak, Ellie. But you're not tough either." He put his axe away and seemed to be at ease, and when Ellie looked around, she realized that the only foes to be seen in the field were their prisoners or the fallen. The battle was over…

"Marcus took the gate," Hector informed her, "But there's a lot of Lahus knaves left inside and we don't know what state the Caelin knights are in. I was assuming you were already with this Lyndis person of yours, so I was on my way there when I saw you."

"Ah! Of course!" Ellie had met the heir to Caelin before, but Hector hadn't; she was hoping to introduce them without Lyndis seeing him fight first. She somehow didn't have the feeling the half-Sacaen swordswoman would appreciate the Ositian knight's wild, risky fighting style. Or his brash nature, now that Ellie thought about it. Which was why she insisted on introducing them- things might not end well if Hector did it himself.

* * *

Admittedly that could have gone worse. A lot worse. They had found the Caelin knights and concluded that they were alive and well- nothing a healer wouldn't fix with a Heal or two. Lyndis hadn't seemed hostile to Hector, and he not to her- a huge relief. They'd conducted a quick meeting with Ellie, Hector, Lyndis, Marcus, Hector's adjutant Oswin and Kent, the rather young knight commander of Caelin, and decided that while they had the gates, they should press the advantage and rush troops into the castle, in the hopes of rescuing Lord Hausen and bringing his captors to justice as soon as possible. Ellie couldn't say she was very confident in her skill to defeat Marquess Lahus in combat, but as long as they had Hector and the knights, she wouldn't have to fight him.

That wasn't what was bothering her, though. Despite the positive results, she wasn't happy with how the meeting had gone.

Maybe because the results of Hector and Lyndis meeting were a little TOO positive. She had caught Hector looking at the half-Sacaen. Lyndis' choice of clothes was more revealing than Ellie's own, and her body was nothing to be ashamed of. The worst part was that Ellie didn't recall Hector ever looking at her like he had looked at Lyndis, so it had to mean something… Had it been a mistake to introduce them?

No, she didn't want to think about that for now. Marcus had insisted she let Serra treat the wound she took from the Knight, so she was on her way to the priestess, and she had to put her mind to reclaiming Castle Caelin. She could worry about Hector after they'd captured and brought Marquess Lahus to justice… and now that she thought about the rebellion, her thoughts flitted back to her father. What was she even doing worrying about Hector when her father's name had yet to be cleared?

Something in her head was screwing up her priorities. Having a crush was all nice and well, but not if it was going to interfere with her life.


	4. C-support

_**Author's Notes: **Once more, it feels like forever since I last uploaded anything. I'm working on a bigger project, but my proofreader is extremely busy with his personal life and I don't feel terribly comfortable uploading anything that's not been proofread anymore. Adding to this that it's hard for me to find a good proofreader that I'm comfortable with, my uploading is going to be slow for a while longer despite having several chapters ready to go. In the case of Ellie/Hector, there is an additional reason I was holding off uploading._

_A little while ago, I requested that a friend of mine, talented in the visual arts rather than the literary, draw up a picture of Ellie, so that I could have a visual. I didn't know how long he would take, so I held off uploading until he was done, so that I could hopefully link to the finished work. Last week, he showed me the final result. I was hoping to link to it here, but FFNet doesn't seem able to process the link. I can provide it to those interested in private.  
_

* * *

He looked around the battlefield. He was slowed down by armor, so even though his friend was more cautious than him and didn't tend to run blindly forward, he shouldn't be TOO far ahead of her. Suddenly, she popped up next to him, sheathing her sword. "Good to see you, Ellie." She must have jumped a mile when he said that. She'd evidently not expected to see him this close to her. "Are you doing okay?"

"Er." Ellie composed herself. "Yes, I'm alright. Why, did you think otherwise?"

Blast. He hadn't wanted to make her think he thought her weak. That hadn't turned out well in the past. "No, of course not," he quickly lied. "I know you'll be fine. You're the heiress to Pherae, after all." He turned around, having spotted an enemy archer, but Ellie stopped him.

"Wait, Hector." She'd raised her free hand in a pleading gesture for him to stay. "Did you want something?"

"Not really," he said, keeping an eye on the archer until the paladin Marcus rode in and skewered him, "I just wanted to make sure you weren't overdoing it. I was way the hell down here, I couldn't help you if anything were to go wrong."

Ellie sighed and Hector expected a tirade over how she wasn't weak, but she just stroked her hair back and smiled. "The same applies to you though, Hector. Don't be afraid to rely on Marcus or Lowen if Sir Oswin isn't around. I expect them to protect you as they would me, you know."

"As if Marcus would take his eyes off of you for a second," Hector said, eliciting a laugh from her. She knew he was right. "There's no need to worry about me. You know me, I'm tough. Stuff that seems too much for you is barely enough for me."

"Yes, I'm well aware." From her gaze, Hector could tell she had seen him messing up the three enemy lancers that had cornered him. He knew she hated bloodshed, but come on, those guys had been asking for it.

A change of subject might not hurt. "Er, yes. Thing is, Ellie, in your case it's different. No offense, but you're nowhere near as hardy as I am. And you're not used to travel, either. I'm usually the one who crosses half of Lycia to see you." He shrugged, trying to look as nonchalant as he could. "If you go on for too long I'm afraid you might collapse. I don't really want to see that happen."

"It's sweet of you to worry about me, Hector," she said. Miraculously she didn't take his words as an insult. "I admit, this new routine takes some getting used to, but remember who you're comparing me to." She smiled. "Compared to you, we're all weaklings." Was she… complimenting him? "Fortunately for weaklings like me though, battles are rarely won on pure strength alone." Oh. She was getting to _that_ subject. "Out of our thirty sparring matches thus far, I've won fourteen, losing twelve while four ended in a draw."

"Eh?!" Whoa. There was no way he would let himself be made to look bad in front of Ellie; not even by Ellie herself! He had NOT counted on her memory being so damn keen! "I think not! I recall thirty-one matches, with thirteen wins and thirteen losses for both of us and five draws!" With luck, she would take his suggestion as the truth…

Nope. No luck there. "Yes, well, you recall wrong." She was still smiling. "I'm in the right. We've been sparring every two months since shortly after I turned twelve, and seeing that I turned seventeen a short while ago, I'm certain about the thirty matches. Chances are I recall the outcomes better, too."

"Hmph." Blast. There was just no arguing with this girl. Still, he wouldn't give up so easily. "And what, if I may ask, makes you so certain all of a sudden?"

Her smile made way to something more of a smirk. "Jog my memory, Hector. Whose snoring was it that shook the rafters in numbers class?"

There went all hopes he'd had of not looking bad in front of Ellie. The memory of a blasted e_lephant._ That had been YEARS ago! "…your point is painfully valid."

"Still, I'm touched that you were worried about me." She unsheathed her rapier. "I should be getting back to the fray. We can talk later!" With those words she took off, not waiting for Hector's response.

"Hey, wait!" Hector reached for her, but she was already out of his reach and on her way to a brigand en route to the nearest village to plunder. "Blast it, Ellie! Why are you so fast?" He just hoped nothing was going to happen to her. He'd have to smash in the skull of every knave who put a scratch on her.

* * *

_**Additional Author's Notes:** Due to my proofreader's involuntary hiatus, this chapter has not been properly proofread by anyone other than myself. Once he has more time available, we will go back to any chapters I've uploaded in the meantime and proofread and edit them retroactively. Thanks for bearing with me._


	5. B-support

_**Author's Notes:** To those of you who aren't interested in transcripts of support conversations, I'm sorry. I just feel it's best to keep the support chapters together, and since I'm iffy about switching the order of the chapters around after reviews have been posted to them, that means I'm going to upload all of them after one another. I promise I'll wrap them up soon so I can get to the original chapters again soon._

* * *

This was getting out of hand. Ellie turned tail and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, covering her side with one hand. Of course she knew she was never going to outrun the cavalier, but she had to at least try… if she could get to Phoenix, she could make a quick getaway to where Marcus was! Of course, her wounded and tired body could not stay in front of the horseman for long, so she turned around and instead tried a desperate final swing of her blade.

Seconds later, she heard the man falling on the ground and opened her eyes. The horse had stopped, although it stepped on Ellie's foot and had to be pushed off before she could see anything else. "Ellie, are you okay-" Hector ran towards her, but shortly after seeing that she was safe, he interrupted himself, using his hand in a futile attempt to mask an impressive yawn.

This stupefied Ellie. Hector of all people? "Hector, are you _yawning?_"

"Was not."

"Were too!" Ellie said, "I can't imagine that's battlefield manners as they are taught in Ositia. What's the matter?"

"Not sleeping a lot recently. Keep waking myself up with the same dream over and over again." It was now that Ellie noticed he looked tired. She didn't think anything was really off, but then again this was the first time she'd caught him yawning on the battlefield. She still couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"Dream?" she repeated, "What dream?" When Hector didn't seem about to tell her, she pressed. "What about, Hector?"

"Not telling. You'd laugh."

"I'd never laugh at you," she said, pretending to be insulted. "You know this."

"I swear, Ellie, laugh and I'll personally kill you." Ellie nodded, knowing he was bluffing, and he ran his hand through his hair. "It's nothing impressive really… all I see is this bear of a man, with a huge beard, carrying a little girl on his shoulders. At some point she calls him 'father.' Seems a really happy sort. The father then tries to look at her as best he can, asking 'Yes, my dear daughter?' …that's pretty much all. I always wake up before she can tell him what she wants from him."

"I see…" Ellie tried to picture it.

"Weird thing is, the man kinda reminds me of my own father I guess?" Hector seemed to be somewhere else with his head. "But Uther and I to the best of our knowledge never had a sister, so I have to wonder who the little girl is. She was cute, too… kinda reminds me of you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing!"

Ellie shook her head, deciding to ignore Hector's words for now. She could always interrogate him on it later. "Huh… can you recall what the girl's hair color was? Red?"

"No, blue," Hector said. "Her father's, too." Ellie started chuckling. "I told you not to laugh!"

"What if I told you it could be a vision of your own future?" Ellie said, still chuckling, swatting away the hand with which Hector reached for her. "A huge beard, you said?" She laughed again, louder this time. "You never told me you were clairvoyant, Hector!"

"I- I'm not!" he turned red in the face. "And if that's my future I'm not sure what to think of it."

"Why would that be?" Ellie said, finally stopping laughing, "Didn't you say your daughter was cute?"

"Well, yeah, but sometimes after I fall back asleep the dream goes on." He scratched his head. "Whenever that happens this woman appears on the scene. A woman with red hair…"

"L-let's not get ahead of ourselves…" Ellie wasn't sure she liked where Hector was taking this. "T-there's plenty of women with red hair…"

"Shut up, I'm thinking. Now I'm sure- the woman's Pheraen. She shows up on the scene and picks up the girl that according to your wild guess would be my daughter, holding her in her arms…" he frowned. Ellie started stepping back. "Blue eyes, too, as I recall." He glared at Ellie.

"There's absolutely no reason to think that I-"

"I don't care how close we are, Ellie." Hector turned red in the face. "I- I'm not marrying you!"

"Hector, don't shout like that, there's still enemies out here…" This was worrying. And embarrassing. "I- I never knew you believed in fortune-telling, Hector."

"I don't!" Hector turned even redder. At this point Ellie started to wonder whether it was because he was angry or out of breath. "But mark my words, Ellie. Touch my little girl and you're eating axe." With that, he turned around to let the lancer that had found them taste said axe before he'd feed it to Ellie.

Ellie scratched the back of her head, wondering what had gotten him like that and taking a Vulnerary out of her pack. "Let's hope your dream doesn't come true, then," he muttered to herself, "I have no taste for axes…"

* * *

_**Additional Author's Notes:** I'm gonna try and update this a little more frequently. A-support within two weeks, guys._


	6. A-support

Wordlessly staring at the pile of ashes, Hector pulled his sword out of the ground. Morphs didn't bleed or fall over like humans did, and frankly, the way they just disintegrated into ashes upon being killed creeped him the hell out. Turning and swinging the steel blade to his right, he killed another one, and thinking himself safe he peered around the battlefield, hoping to find a trace of the noblewomen in his company. He soon saw Ellie, although her mind didn't seem to be with the battle. Her horse, Phoenix, idly strolled along the edge of the woods and while she had a sword in hand, her grip was certainly not the firmest he'd seen out of her.

Was she out of her mind? She'd get killed! Still holding his sword in hand, Hector made his way over to her, the clanking of his armor quickly alerting both horse and rider. "Ellie, where's your head?" He didn't waste time with idle greetings. "Other than in the clouds?"

"Oh, Hector…"

He shook his head. "Nothing oh, Hector. You're not paying attention! What are you thinking?!"

Phoenix snorted nervously and he saw Ellie tug on her reins. At least she'd kept THOSE short. "I was just… pondering Erik." Erik?! For a second, all of Hector's hopes died. Why was she thinking of Erik at a time like this? It had been months since they'd dealt with him and his army, there was no reason at all for her to be wondering about him unless she was- he didn't want to think about that. "Or well… I guess I'm more thinking of when we first met."

"You and him?"

"All of us," she said, smiling. "Some… ten years ago, I guess? During our fathers' oath rites, in Ositia?"

As if Hector didn't remember the day he'd met Ellie. "Yeah. Uther'd just been made marquess of Ositia so your father and the others had to re-pledge their allegiance. All I remember is being stuck in that one room and having to behave in a manner fitting the younger sibling of Marquess Ositia or some such nonsense."

"How dared they make such outrageous demands of you," Ellie said, chuckling.

"Well, yeah," he turned red with embarrassment at being mocked by his childhood friend. "I probably failed miserably in it, too. But in my defense, wouldn't you know that rat was on my right?"

"Erik?"

"Yeah. I heard more sweet-talk from him than from any woman in my life!" Ellie laughed again. Not sure if she was laughing because of his words or because of him, he shut up.

"Right, I understand," she said, "He tried the same with me, anyway. I don't think he really knew who we were exactly, he just wanted to get into favor with a future lord of Lycia."

"Preferably the pretty one, I guess." Hector ignored the change in her expression. "Much good that it did us. As soon as things turn sour he betrays us. You know," he realised, "I can have him for high treason if I play it right. He DID try to kill Marquess Ositia's brother."

Ellie's subsequent laughter startled both him and Phoenix, and she needed a few seconds to get the horse next to him again. "Oh, Hector… why you and Erik hate each other so much I will never understand. When he jumped up back then, yelling that we should swear our own oaths and cut open his hand, no one knew what to do either."

"Well, even we knew it was the warrior's custom." Or at least Hector had known. Then again he was also the youngest arena fighter in Lycia. "Cutting your hand and then shaking hands with your brothers. Only one had the nerve to meet him though. And you're not even a man!"

Ellie blushed a little, scratching the back of her head. "…truth be told I just wanted to see the cut so I could treat it as best I could. But after that the ball really got rolling. I'm proud to have taken your hand though, Hector. Today we're comrades in arms, sharing the same ambition… and when one of us is in danger, the other risks everything to protect them." She looked straight at him, and he felt his face getting warm and red.

"That's why you came to my side, isn't it? Because you remembered?"

Hector waited a long time with his answer. And he had a good reason to, too. He could say that she was right and that was the only reason he'd rushed towards her when he'd heard she'd left Pherae to look for her father. He could also poke fun at her weakness relative to him and risk her somehow making her horse kick him in a place he didn't want to be kicked. He had no idea HOW she would do it, but he knew better than to underestimate a Pheraen noble's ability to control their steed. Besides, there was a third answer that was itching to be given.

He'd wanted to tell her for the longest time now, but the words had never come to him. He was afraid that if he said it, it'd be awkward, and he'd rather stay nothing but friends with her than make things awkward. He knew he couldn't wait forever, though- they were seventeen. Ellie was going to be married off soon, and if he didn't make this known to her now he was going to lose her, knowing his luck to Erik, too.

"No," he said, making up his mind and reaching up to grab her hand. "I came because I love you."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **Last of the support transcripts. Moving onto original material again next week. _


	7. S-support

_**Author's Notes: **I hope you guys weren't thinking that I'd leave you all hanging with the ending the A-support had. In reference to the latest additions to support libraries, here's the REAL final support chapter to this series. However, the content of this chapter is all original, and I feel it relies more on narrative than on dialogue as opposed to the other three... ah, well._

* * *

Ellie steeled herself before heading into her friend's tent. She hoped he hadn't thought he could get away with confessing to her and then promptly taking off to kill a dark mage that Jaffar could easily have killed from where he had been standing. Of course, she herself hadn't been able to do anything other than stare at him until he'd ran off, and in fairness, the battle had been much more pressing. But now that it had ended, there was no excuse for either of them to avoid the other, right?

"Hector, are you decent?" she asked, considering she herself had taken some time to freshen up and change into some clean clothes before coming over.

It took a long time before Hector finally answered. "Yeah, I am. C'min, Ellie."

She pushed the tent flap aside and walked in, finding Hector fully dressed, although without armor. He was pacing through the tent, with what might have been a battle report or a letter from Ositia in his hands; whatever it was, he certainly looked as though he had been busy. And it hadn't even been that long since the battle had ended. Ellie smiled as she saw it. Hector had begun the journey as a loose cannon, but they'd come far in more ways than just geographically speaking. While she had always been fond of Hector, he had now grown as a leader and as a man to the point where she genuinely felt that if anything happened to Lord Uther, Hector would make an equally competent leader for Lycia.

And that was why… "Do you mind if I sit…" she looked around the tent, "Somewhere?"

"Sure thing," he said, still pacing with his eyes glued to the papers, "Make yourself at home." He vaguely gestured somewhere, but his attention remained at whatever he was reading. "I don't have a lot of time though, I need to check our weapons supply and our funds once I'm done with this."

Ellie frowned. This diligence was not so much Hector growing up very quickly, as much as it was worrying. "Hector… are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said, finally putting the paper aside, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Did you want something?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Is it urgent? Like I said, I have places to be-"

"Hector!" Ellie stepped forward, putting herself in Hector's pacing path. "Are you avoiding me?"

The spot she'd chosen to stand in had the desired effect of throwing Hector off now that he couldn't continue pacing without bowling her over. Their close proximity seemed to unsettle the axeman. "What? Of course not! I didn't tell you to leave, did I?"

"That's not the- Hector, I'm standing here!" She brought up her hand and snapped her fingers in front of his face when his gaze escaped hers. "Hector, you and I run this army. If you're going to avoid me like the plague, it's going to cost lives and I won't have it. Is this about what you said to me on the battlefield?"

Hector immediately turned to leave. "We'll talk about this later."

"Because I love you too, Hector."

A painful silence fell. Ellie finally cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. You caught me off guard, and I've never considered you might feel the same, because you're, you know… Hector." Hector was driven and straight-to-the-point. He didn't do sappy things like falling in love, where you couldn't just powerhouse your way towards a solution that would satisfy all involved parties. At least, that was what Ellie had thought until today. She shook her head, smiling. "Silly, aren't I? I never considered you might be capable of anything as pointless as love."

"Wait, back up…" Hector had turned back to her and now held both hands out front of himself. "You just said you… loved me."

"I did," Ellie said, still smiling. "Because I do."

"I thought you… I dunno." For a few seconds, the two stood opposing each other in silence. Just as Ellie wanted to say something -anything- to break the silence, Hector jolted. "Ack! I- I have something for you, in that case- where do I have it?!" For a moment, he looked like the old Hector that Ellie had known for so many years as he rummaged through his pack, beet red with embarrassment. "R-Right… here."

He turned around to her, trying to regain his composure. "I… got something for you when we were in Ositia the other day. It's kind of pointless because, you know, nobles, and it's gonna be taken care of FOR us, but I still wanted to…"

Ellie blinked, looking at the small box he cradled in one hand. "Hector, is that…"

"The worst idea I ever had?" Hector chuckled dryly. "Pretty much. But I was still hoping you'd wear it someday, Ellie."

As he wasn't going to make any moves anytime soon, Ellie decided to take matters into her own hands and she took the box out of his hand, opening it. Immediately, she was faced with a ring- and not a simple golden band either, like she would have expected from Hector. He had never been one for flamboyant displays of wealth, but it appeared he had spared himself no expenses in purchasing this particular ring.

Something about it caught her eye, though, especially once she took it out of the box. "H-Hector! T-this is the Ositian royal crest… is this YOUR ring?"

"My mother's," he corrected her. "We don't have enough war funds for me to spend on jewelry, but I still wanted to… you know, be proper and all…" He put one hand on his forehead and shut his eyes. "This is not going as I had planned it." Ellie chuckled, but interrupted herself as Hector grabbed her hand with both his own. "I'm going to put an end to this before I make even more of an ass out of myself. I want to ask you one stupid question."

Ellie knew perfectly well what was going to happen, but she still felt her cheeks grow warm as Hector held on to her hand and knelt in front of her. "When this mess is over and we're both still alive, will you marry me?" Almost immediately, he occupied himself sliding the ring onto her finger, so he wouldn't have to look at her face.

Ellie used her free hand to force his chin up so she could look into his eyes. "Yes," she then said. "Without a second thought."


	8. False Friends

_**Author's Notes:** Before I deliver this week's chapter, I'd like to remind everyone of something I said in the closing notes of the very first chapter to this series: These chapters are not in chronological order. I placed the supports together not to cheat my way out of having to develop Ellie and Hector's relationship but because they were closely related- everything that comes after them will not necessarily feature Ellie and Hector in their engaged state.  
_

_The reason for this is that I write the chapters as they come to mind. I have at least one other chapter planned that has Ellie and Hector as younger children, and I wouldn't be able to upload that if I were to do this in chronological order. Similarly, I'd have to hold off any post-FE7 chapters just in the off chance I'd get another idea for during the game. I understand that this can be confusing, but please assume that the installments to this series are not in chronological order._

* * *

Ellie felt an uncomfortable pang of fear as she looked around the plains they were crossing. Lahus' soldiers were everywhere. Deployed in squads, most were tending to either their horses or to their weapons. "Just look at that." Hector stopped his own horse next to Ellie's. "They're really preparing for war."

"Yes…" When Ellie had heard the news from the village magistrate, she had prayed that he was mistaken and that there was a more complicated explanation for the military activity in Lahus. But Hector had put it simply. They were preparing for war. Even with Ellie's wishful thinking, she couldn't think otherwise. Still, she had to try. "Do you think there's a different explanation? An… I don't know, a sort of military practice session we're unfamiliar with?"

"I don't think so, Ellie." Hector spared her a sideways glance. "You don't look like you want to go to the castle and get answers out of Lord Darin. You know it's the best chance we have of finding out what happened to your father, don't you?"

"I do. But if we're looking at what we think we're seeing and we go to the castle, and we learn the truth… Hector, what if we have to go to war?" Ellie hated war. She'd never been involved in one directly, but she had already established that fighting to kill was not her cup of tea. As long as she focused on the foe she was fighting she would be fine, but she would inevitably imagine the family and friends that foe had. She couldn't ignore the fact that every man she killed was just that- a man.

Hector looked at her with something resembling pity. If he was trying to comfort her, however, his words were a poor attempt at it. "I'm fine with war. Ositia's got a massive army at its disposal, especially if we can get troops from the other Lycian territories."

"You're strong, Hector." She gave him a weak smile. "But I'm not. I wouldn't last in a war."

"Ellie…"

"Lady Ellie!" Both jolted as Marcus came closer to them, interrupting their moment. Hector had raised his hand and had started to move it towards hers, but the second he realised Marcus was there he stopped his movement and grabbed his reins again. The paladin saw from Ellie's gaze that he had permission to speak, so he explained his intrusion. "Scouts report that Lord Erik has ridden forth from the castle."

Hector perked at that, but he didn't look happy. Knowing both men, Ellie immediately feared an explosive confrontation. "How many men does he have with him?" Hector asked, completely ignoring the fact that Marcus was Ellie's knight and not his own.

Marcus replied nonetheless. "None. He rides alone."

"Well, that's a first." Ellie frowned, both at Hector's words and at the fact that he was right- Erik never rode out alone. Whereas Ellie had been assigned Marcus for her trip and had taken Lowen, Bartre, Dorcas and Rebecca as additional protectors only by his advice, Erik outright refused to ride without at least two bodyguards at all times. "What's he want?"

"He wishes to speak with you, my lady." Hector clucked his tongue and Ellie expected a 'there's a big surprise,' but he held it in.

Ellie hesitated, but eventually decided that this was as good a time as any to question the son of Marquess Lahus and she shouldn't have left Pherae if she couldn't handle the truth. "I will see him. Bring him to me."

"Yes, milady."

When Marcus left to fetch Erik, Hector suddenly turned his horse. "I'm going for a ride. I can't stand the guy." Ellie suppressed a sigh of relief. She would have felt braver with Hector by her side, but she hadn't been looking forward between the clash of the two men- Erik held the same sentiments towards Hector, after all.

Hector left with Oswin at around the same time that Marcus arrived back with Erik. She noted that he seemed cheerful. "Hello, Ellie!" He stopped a little close to Ellie for comfort, and Phoenix snorted as Erik's stallion got too close to her. "It's been such a long time since I last had the pleasure of seeing you. You look as lovely and as well as ever."

This was why Ellie was happy Hector had left. If he hadn't, this would have been the point where he would have steered his horse right into Erik. She blushed at her fellow noble's words of praise, but finding the lance he had tied to his saddle to be slightly more interesting, she didn't bother answering them. "Erik… what is it you want from me?"

"Why do you always look so worried?" Erik was unfazed. "I just wanted to see my old friend again." Ellie couldn't find a way to reply to that without seeming offended, so she waited for Erik to lead the rest of the conversation. "You know… I can't help but notice that buffoon, Hector, isn't with you. Isn't he normally trailing behind you like a lost puppy? Did something happen between you?"

He was a little too enthusiastic when he asked that. "N-no," Ellie said. "We're fine… We're pretty far from Ositia here, Erik."

"So you still communicate as much as you always have? When did you see him last?" Her answer had clearly not pleased him, but it seemed there was more than the usual animosity towards Hector and pseudo-admiration of Ellie at work this time. "Has he told you anything disturbing lately? Knowing that peasant, I'm sure he has."

Ellie opted not to answer that, instead giving him a question of her own. "What are you after?" He fell silent and only looked at her questioningly. Ellie briefly wondered who resembled the lost puppy now, but she pressed. "You're fishing for something. And everywhere I look, I see your men preparing for a large battle."

"Look, Ellie, Lahus is just a little more defensive than your Pherae-"

Unfortunately for him, and she saw on his face that he realised this, Ellie had made her decision. She hated war, and knew that if she demanded answers she would risk getting caught up in it, but… "I WILL know the truth, Erik!"

Phoenix suddenly neighed and reared, throwing Ellie off her back, when Erik seized the weapon on his saddle and used it to attack her leg. Marcus was immediately there to seize the mare, and Lowen arrived momentarily to help Ellie up, but they didn't attack Erik when he didn't seem to press his own attack.

"I'd hoped to wait until you'd told me whether you've spoken with Marquess Ositia," Erik said, "But I suppose it doesn't matter. We can interrogate you once I make you mine." Now was when Marcus and Lowen drew their own swords. Ellie waited until the world stopped spinning before looking at him.

"Erik, why-" she yelped when she was grabbed from behind by two strong arms, but before she even got a chance to struggle she was dragged to a side and let go, now standing behind Hector, who had apparently left his horse in the care of Merlinus.

Erik grabbed his reins with one hand and threateningly lowered his lance to point at Hector's face. "Hector of Ositia," he said, his voice dripping with hatred. "I've been longing to smash you and your arrogant brother to pieces."

"Oh, _we're_ the arrogant bastards now?!" Hector said, clearly enraged, "I'd love to see you try, Erik!" he took his axe to hand. This was exactly the kind of thing Ellie had expected to happen, but with the difference that this time it was actually a good thing Hector was so fired up. "It was an ambush. The cavalry we've been seeing all over the place has its sights set on our company!"

* * *

He wasn't even tired. Hector had been smashing through horsemen for what felt like hours, but unlike Ellie, who he saw breathing heavily a few yards away from him, he could go on for another few hours. Besides, he'd finally gotten a visual on his real target. Erik's horse stopped in front of him, snorting in what might have been supposed to be a threat. It took more than a horse to intimidate Hector, though.

"I've always hated you." Erik apparently wanted to waste time talking. Very well, two could play that game. It'd give Hector time to decide on which of the glaringly obvious openings in Erik's defense he would take advantage of.

"If it helps any, the feeling's mutual."

"You're not satisfied just hogging all the praise in the classroom and the training fields… you're all Ellie has eyes for!" Hector frowned. He experienced that differently. Ellie and Erik were both horse owners and avid riders, so Ellie had certainly had extensive contact with him. Although the Ositian lord was probably helped by the fact that he hadn't just tried to _put a lance into her. _"Every single time I see her you're right there with her… what does she see in you?!"

Hector shrugged it off, although remembering the attack angered him again. "You're delusional. Ellie and I are just friends. Maybe if you'd been less obsessed with us and spent a little more time honing yourself instead, she-"

"Silence!" He was mad. Hector took a wider stance to receive the charge that was about to come. "You're done now! After you, Marquess Ositia will fall to Lahus! Lycia and Ellie will be mine!"

"You wish!" Hector took the charge, feeling a burning pain in his side, and immediately struck back, reaching past the neck of the horse that damn near trampled him to connect his axe with Erik's side and return the favor. He was successful in dismounting the cur, and immediately pressed the attack, landing his axe in the ground a hair's breadth from Erik's head. Sadly Ellie wouldn't want him to kill the bastard. Instead of finishing him off, Hector gestured for Oswin, who pulled Erik to his feet and held him. The heir to Lahus threw a tantrum about it, claiming to be no one's prisoner, but Hector ignored him. "Hold him there," he told Oswin, "I'll be with you in a minute."

He left, looking for Ellie, and found her not too far from where he had ran into Erik. "Hey. Oswin's got him. Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. I'll be fine." Hector saw the blood on his friend's rapier and knew she was lying. That explained why she was trembling. When she saw him look, she quickly sheathed the blade and immediately directed her attention and her hand to his side, like a bloodhound. "You're injured!"

"That'll be fine," he said, not wanting her to worry. "Erik grazed me. Nothing Serra or that new girl won't fix."

"But-"

"No buts. Come on." He touched her arm gently. "We're going to interrogate Erik. I don't think he knows where Lord Elbert is per se, but anything we can learn might help us."

"Yes… let's go." She didn't even wait for him, just taking off towards the castle.

—

Erik might as well have punched Ellie in the stomach. For seconds, she couldn't utter a single word, only putting her hand over her mouth in shock. Then, she started to step back. Hector tried to stop her, but he was far too slow. By the time he had managed to reach for her, she was almost out of the room. "The truth hurts, Ellie!" She ignored the cry of pain that followed Erik's taunt, simply running out of the castle past Oswin and Marcus.

Hector took maybe five minutes to find her. In that time, she managed to calm herself and bring her breathing and heartrate back to normal levels. "Ellie, listen, about what Erik said…"

"My father," she said, fearing she'd burst into tears as she did so, "Is _not_ a traitor."

"He's not," Hector said, making a gesture for peace. "I'm sure this is some sort of misunderstanding. There's no one in Lycia who has the trust of my brother more than Lord Elbert does. We'll find Darin and stomp the answers out of him, I promise." When Ellie didn't stop shaking, he shook his head and stretched out his arms to her. "Come here, you."

She did as she was told, putting her arms around him and allowing him to embrace her. "It's going to be fine. We'll find Lord Elbert and we'll also find that he didn't join the rebellion against Uther."

Ellie barely heard what he said, finding his arms to be comfort enough for now.


End file.
